I can see some cyclamen and I’m fairly sure that’s witch hazel at the back left but the rest are a mystery. Why not have a look and see if you can help out!

Looking again at the photo (and its partner) I really started to notice some odd details. The container at bottom right has soil and roots piled at least as high again as the pot.

Looking up the left side there appear to be quite a few others that are done the same way. In fact it made me wonder whether there are really any pots up the inside. Maybe it’s just a big pile of soil and roots with the pots making sure it doesn’t spill out onto the stairs!

I’m trying something a little new today by blogging directly from my Flickr account. Not sure how this will end up looking but there’s no harm in trying, is there?

————-

To get all philosophical for a moment; growing plants in window boxes is about trying to blur the boundaries between the basic need for shelter and the wish to be outside in the fresh air. With limited space a verdant window box full of colourful flowers reminds us of the joy and freedom of nature, even while we are pottering about in our safe and cosy bolthole, weighed down with life’s worries and problems. They also look quite pretty 😉

In the city there’s a constant tension between the drive for development and the desire for green spaces. Plans for new builds show rows of trees, hanging baskets and perfect grass verges but the reality is often very different as short term economic decisions over-ride long term environmental ones.

But even when everything doesn’t work out as originally planned people can still make a difference to the neighbourhood by brightening up a dark corner or, as is the case with the picture here, creating their own garden from nothing. The honour guard of containers making the transition from public to private much more natural than the cold stone stoop would ordinarily achieve.

Categories

The Cast

Six window boxes, each with their own unique personality.
Chris: The philosophical loner with a rough edge - currently a mix of orange winter pansies, lobelia left over from summer and a dianthus that isn't sure what it's doing. Spring bulbs are a mystery.
Shelly: Perky and down-to-earth. Currently displaying a fertile group of purple mini cyclamen.
Holling: The hard worker - got all the leftovers during summer but is now just showing a mix of red and purple mini cyclamen.
Ed: Part mystic, part sage, part healer - a mix of winter pansy, lobelia and dianthus, much like Chris but scrappier.
Maggie: Queen of the confused - The one lobelia that really grew, a constantly flowering pink mini cyclamen, a hardy variegated ivy, a white and a yellow pansy and some pathetic looking winter pansies which probably won't make it to Xmas.
Joel: Ever the show-off and yet just as confused as Maggie - white viola, purple pansy, red mini cyclamen and orange winter pansy.